Software Engineer

Defense Unicorns

53d•$123,250 - $166,750•Remote

About The Position

Defense Unicorns is seeking a Mid to Senior Software Engineer to help drive our transformation from legacy, on-premises software to a modern, cloud-native platform. In this role you will play a key part in designing and building our next-generation scalable data pipelines to ingest, transform, and load data from diverse sources. You'll be joining Defense Unicorns’ US Navy team and be responsible for creating and owning end-to-end project delivery, and advocating best practices in database usage and system architecture. You will work closely with other software engineers, platform engineers, end users, and external stakeholders.

Requirements

U.S. Citizenship required
3+ years (mid) or 5+ years (senior) experience with software engineering
Experience building a software tool with core focuses on software lifecycle and management
Expert level proficiency in at least one modern programming language (e.g., Go, TypeScript, Python) with the ability to write idiomatic, testable code
Strong understanding of system design, API development, workflow orchestration (Argo Workflows preferred), relational databases, and cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure)
Deep knowledge of database design, schema design, indexing, and query optimization
Past experience leading a team through the decomposition of a complex monolithic application design into small, independent services that communicate with lightweight APIs
Modern API design experience, beyond basic CRUD operations; use of RESTful services, and high confidence utilizing tools such as FastAPI in Python, ASP.NET in C#, or equivalent
Experience with implementation of authorization and data governance, security telemetry pipelines, policy enforcement, and role-based access control to ensure compliance and data privacy across enterprise systems
Excited to assess intricate problems, propose solutions, and implement them effectively
Familiar with Core Kubernetes Concepts including but not limited to Controllers, Operators, and CRDs
Passion for clean architecture, automation, and iterative modernization
Familiar with Department of Defense acquisition or sustainment software modernization projects
Strong communication and collaboration skills, comfortable conveying technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences as well as leading technical working sessions with partners and mission heroes
Analytical, problem-solving mindset with a high attention to detail
Experience working proactively, managing time efficiently, and thriving in a vibrant remote work environment!

Responsibilities

Partner with data architects, analysts, and a wide variety of stakeholders to translate ambiguous product requirements into technical solutions
Design, build, and maintain complex ETL/ELT workflows
Implement security protocols, including authentication and authorization
Create optimized transformations to clean, enrich, and model data, utilizing cloud-native tools
Ensure data quality, integrity, and compliance, maintaining metadata and lineage
Help refactor and modernize existing on-prem systems into distributed, cloud-based services
Contribute to the design of authentication, identity management, and RBAC/ABAC frameworks
Participate in architectural discussions, code reviews, and ongoing technical improvements
Drive best practices in microservice design, testing, observability, and CI/CD automation
Collaborate closely with partner company engineers and stakeholders to devise the best solutions for our Mission Heroes
Collaborate with the Defense Unicorns product team sharing improvements and growth opportunities for future projects
Comfortable in an asynchronous, all remote environment
Actively participate in communities of practice via Slack and Github Issues
Integrate software products with existing defense systems, ensuring seamless interoperability and adherence to security protocols
Own architecture decisions and ensure technical quality across the engineering team.
Develop comprehensive documentation, including design specifications, user manuals, and maintenance guides
Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends to inform product enhancements and innovation
Provide technical mentorship and elevate engineering standards across the team
Communicate effectively with all levels of engineers and stakeholders internal and external to the company
Influence product direction through deep understanding of user needs and system constraints